5 Day Ancient Greece and Zakynthos. From €950
Most classical tours of Greece end where the islands begin. This private 5 day tour from Athens uses a simple fact of geography: Kyllini port, the ferry to Zakynthos, is just over an hour from Ancient Olympia. So the island fits naturally between Olympia and Delphi, with no backtracking to Athens and no flights.
- Five UNESCO sites. Epidaurus, Mycenae with its Lion Gate, Ancient Olympia, Delphi and the monasteries of Meteora, all on one route with your own private driver. A licensed guide is available as an add-on at checkout.
- A day at sea on Zakynthos. A full-day cruise to the Blue Caves, Shipwreck Beach and Turtle Island inside the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, with swim stops along the way. Outside the summer season, a private land tour of the island.
- Local flavors. Olive oil and wine at the producers' market in Olympia and a honey tasting at a family farm in the hills.
- Two nights on the island. Time to walk Zakynthos town, rebuilt after the 1953 earthquake, go up to Bochali hill and have dinner by the harbor.
History, an Ionian island and the monasteries of Meteora in five days, at your own pace and with no group to wait for. Book your 5 day classical Greece and Zakynthos tour online and see both sides of Greece in one trip.
Most tours of Greece make you choose between the ancient sites and the islands. This private 5 day tour from Athens gives you both: five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from Epidaurus, Mycenae and Ancient Olympia to Delphi and Meteora, plus two nights on Zakynthos with a full-day cruise to the Blue Caves, Shipwreck Beach and Turtle Island. The last stop on the way home is Thermopylae. Your own driver, an optional licensed guide, and no group to wait for.
Our team at Private Tours Greece has planned private tours across Greece since 2010, and we keep refining this route based on feedback from the travelers who take it.
Day 1: Athens - Corinth Canal - Epidaurus - Nafplio - Mycenae - Olympia
- 08:30 Pick-up: Your private driver meets you at your Athens hotel. Follow the coast of the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal (approx. 1 hour), 6.4 km long and cut up to 90 meters deep through solid rock. Continue to Epidaurus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Its 4th century BC theater seats about 14,000 people, with acoustics so precise that a coin dropped in the orchestra can be heard from the top row. Beside it lies the Sanctuary of Asklepios, the most famous healing center of the ancient Greek world. Stop for an optional lunch in Nafplio, the first capital of modern Greece until 1834. Walk the old town below the Palamidi Fortress and look out to the Bourtzi castle in the bay.
💡 Insider tip: Skip the busy restaurants on the main square in Nafplio. Walk a few minutes into the quieter lanes below Palamidi for homemade ice cream or a traditional spoon sweet.
In the afternoon, visit Mycenae, the citadel of Agamemnon. Walk through the Lion Gate, built around 1250 BC, see Grave Circle A, where the gold Mask of Agamemnon was found in 1876, and step inside the beehive-shaped Treasury of Atreus.
Then drive across the Peloponnese to Olympia (approx. 2.5 hours). Optional dinner and overnight in Olympia.
Day 2: Ancient Olympia - Olive Oil, Wine and Honey Tasting - Zakynthos
- 08:30 Olympia: On your private Ancient Olympia tour, walk through the sanctuary where the Games were held for almost twelve centuries, from 776 BC. See the Temple of Hera, where the Olympic flame is still lit today, the gymnasium where athletes trained, the workshop of Pheidias and the Temple of Zeus.
Pass through the vaulted tunnel into the original stadium. In the museum, see the Hermes of Praxiteles and the Nike of Paionios. Allow about 2 hours for the site and museum. Taste local olive oil and wine at the open-air producers' market in Olympia.
Then continue to a family farm in the hills for a honey tasting with homemade desserts in the shade of the trees.
Drive to Kyllini port (approx. 1 hour 15 minutes) and take the ferry to Zakynthos (approx. 1 hour).
In Zakynthos town, walk Solomos Square, named after the poet who wrote the Greek national anthem and was born on the island, and go up Bochali hill for the view over the harbor. Optional dinner at a seaside taverna. Overnight in Zakynthos.
Day 3: Zakynthos Boat Cruise - Blue Caves - Shipwreck Beach - Turtle Island
- Board your boat for a full-day cruise around Zakynthos. Start in the north at the Blue Caves of Cape Skinari, where the water turns bright blue in the morning light.
💡 From our experience: Bring a waterproof phone pouch for the cruise. At the Blue Caves the morning light reflects off the water and gives the best colors for photos.
Continue down the west coast to Navagio, Shipwreck Beach, where the ship Panagiotis ran aground in 1980. Landing and swimming in the bay are currently not permitted for safety reasons, so you see the wreck and the white cliffs from the water. Sail south past Porto Vromi and the Agalas and Keri sea caves to Marathonisi, known as Turtle Island, inside the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, where loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nest. Swim stops along the way and a last stop at Agios Nikolaos beach before you return to your hotel. Overnight in Zakynthos. The full-day cruise runs from May to September.
Day 4: Zakynthos - Nafpaktos - Delphi - Meteora
- Take the morning ferry back to Kyllini (approx. 1 hour). This is the longest day of the tour, so we start early. Cross the Rio-Antirrio bridge, the longest fully suspended multi-span cable-stayed bridge in the world, and stop for coffee by the Venetian harbor of Nafpaktos. Continue along the coast to Delphi (approx. 2 hours).
On your private Delphi tour, walk the Sacred Way past the Treasury of the Athenians to the Temple of Apollo, where the Oracle advised kings and city states for over a thousand years, and on to the theater. In the Delphi Museum, see the bronze Charioteer, cast around 475 BC, and the Sphinx of the Naxians.
Allow about 2 hours for the site and museum. Cross Mount Parnassus and the plains of Thessaly to Kalambaka (approx. 3 hours), at the foot of the Meteora rocks. Optional dinner and overnight in Kalambaka.
Day 5: Meteora Monasteries - Thermopylae - Athens
- 09:00 Meteora: The Meteora monasteries, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sit on rock pillars rising up to 400 meters above the plain. Until the 1920s, monks and supplies were hauled up in rope nets. You visit the interiors of two of the six active monasteries, with their frescoes and chapels, and stop at viewpoints for the others.
💡 Our tip: Most tour buses reach Meteora around 10:00, all at the same monasteries. Your driver adjusts the order of your visits to stay ahead of the large groups. Each monastery closes on a different day, so we confirm the combination for your dates. Shoulders must be covered and women wear a skirt, with wraps provided at the entrance.
On the drive back, stop at Thermopylae (approx. 2 hours 15 minutes), where King Leonidas, his 300 Spartans and their Greek allies held the pass against the Persian army in 480 BC. See the Leonidas monument, the memorial to the Thespians and the hill of Kolonos. Arrive back in Athens (approx. 2 hours) in the early evening, with drop-off at your hotel, the port or the airport. If you are flying out the same day, book a flight after 21:00.
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